The Longer Papi Waits, The More Guilty He Looks.

It has now been over four days since David Ortiz told the media and the public he'd get to the

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bottom of the positive drug test in 2003 that supposedly blindsided him.

And with each moment that passes, he loses more and more credibility. Not that he has a lot left anyway.

He claims he didn't know he failed a test, yet a Boston Globe article published August 1st claims otherwise, that he and others were in fact notified. Granted, they were not notified immediately, but they were notified in 2004, which means that there is no reason that in 2009 he should have acted surprised by the report.

He says he wants to get to the bottom of all this and let us all know what he finds. But wouldn't you think he would want to find everything out as soon as possible? Wouldn't it be prudent for the man who made the Red Sox trip to the 2004 World Series possible to make e

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very effort to be as forthright as possible?

The one thing that has given Ortiz some leeway with Boston fans and the nation is largely because he is that lovable teddy bear. His personality gives him some room to play with when it comes to questions of character. Big Papi being Big Papi has created a reaction that wasn't seen from fans when Manny Ramirez tested positive earlier this season or when Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Sammy Sosa or Roger Clemens were implicated. Fans are more willing to make excuses, more ready to try and make sense of it all, rather than just make blind accusations and point fingers.

But how long will that last when the big man remains silent?

And how smart is it for him to stay quiet? After today's off day, the Red Sox face a tough six-game stretch against Tampa Bay and New York that could either aid or severely

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hamper their hopes of winning the AL East. In a very similar respect, Ortiz's moves over the next few days could go either way. Does he really want to go into New York with so many questions still revolving around him? Sure, every answer will spawn a new question. That's the way it works. But the only thing that would make that a real issue is if he gets caught lying and he can't keep his story straight. If he comes out and says what he knows, he has a chance to reclaim some of his credibility.

There is the possibility that he is one of the eight players on the list who tested positive for a supplement called 19 norandrostedione, which contains nandrolone, a muscle-building substance that was not banned in 2003. But if Ortiz suspected this was the culprit of his failed test, wouldn't it behoove him to find out for a fact that's what it was and shout from the rooftops that he didn't do anything wrong?

But instead, there's been no sense of urgency on Ortiz's part. We're left waiting for answers and he looks more and more like someone trying to make calculations on the next step he takes in terms of damage control. But time is up. It's time for him to speak. The man who once said that players who test positive for steroids should be banned for a year needs to stand up and say something.